Kandi K27 First Drive & Review: Is This Chinese EV Worthy Of Hitting US Highways?
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- Kyle is in Dallas as the first auto journalist to review the Kandi K27. We first take a tour of the Kandi's interior and exterior, then we get it out on the streets to see what it's like to drive.
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Very nice. When I went to university I purchased a new 1978 Honda Civic. Option choice was almost nothing back in those days but I absolutely loved the car. It was cheap, fun to drive., and pretty good in the snow as well. It came with cheap tires which were hard and rough riding, so that was easily remedied by a trip to my local Michelin tire dealership. This little car feels like the electric reincarnation of my little Honda. I can't wait to see more of these type of vehicles on the market.
Charging gun? Obviously, the owner's manual was written for the US market.
Yes, fits right in with the Dallas headquarters! 🙂
Hell yeah baby
it is a charging gun that shoots electrons
Lol
@Robert S caulk gun too.
We need cars like this to pressure other manufacturers to start rolling out AFFORDABLE EVs soon, not in 20 years!! Good review 👍
Until they craft up another Chicken Tax law....
it's going to be hard to compete with Chinese low cost labor
America keeps taking steps to live in a 3rd world mentality.....
@@toyotaprius79 No, this is how it began with Japanese small cars. The US had a lackluster response to the consumers' opinions and Japan ran all over us/US. Soon, the US was playing catch up but small cars were everywhere. I think it will be the same with small electric cars.
@@DELTACO..UBERDRIVER..STOCKS.. troll
I love the honesty in this.. makes me much more confident in the product. the fact the guy WILL POINT OUT FLAWS.. tells me its quality
THis really remind me of kei cars in Japan. That'd be so perfect for commuting or getting around in the burbs. I mean the price is a steal after federal tax credit. I just wish Kandy would sell them here in Europe as well and directly compete against the Dacia Spring (which has still no pricetag yet, as of Nov 2020). The battle of the cheap Chinese EVs would be awesome.
I think it's perfect until you get hit by an SUV or truck. Then the fun stops.
@@pioneer7777777 You could say that about anything that isn't a truck. not that trucks are necessarily safer. Smart cars are actually quite safe, that was one of the main selling points when they first came out.
I suspect that in 10 years time, the fatality statistics for this will turn out so be somewhat lower than for trucks and SUVs
The Toyota Copen is a beauty, harking back to the MG Midget of the glory days of sports cars.
If you're not a distracted, or idiotic driver, then you shouldn't get hit.
The styling is honestly very similar to some of them, such as the Honda N-One.
I'm firmly in the high school / college student camp on this car. It's not something I would want to drive but the negatives for it are positives for that scenario. Car doesn't go real fast: I never wanted my kids to drive at 90 anyways. Short range/Slow Charging: Long enough to get around town but frankly they aren't road tripping in the car anyway. The straight positives for young people are low maintenance costs (convincing my kids to get oil changes was always a struggle), low operating costs (electric versus gas), super easy to park and if it gets a few little fender benders, oh well. The true negative for me is how would it do in a crash when Doug DeMuro runs them over with an electric hummer. I wonder if in the first production runs they've put in larger battery packs for reviews or excellent initial word of mouth. Not normally used to hearing 50ish EPA range converting to 100ish real world range. The other option could be they oversized the battery and instead of hiding the over provision. I think Kyle should have the Inside EV team buy him one in bright yellow and put a bud vase since this sure looks like a modern VW bug.
And the question is if as a college/high school student, can you set up a 220/240 vac 60 amp outlet by where you would park your car? I suspect students staying in residence or even in off campus apartments won't.
Some apartments in Canada will have a 15 amp 110/120 vac circuit dedicated to their parking spot so that the power used for the block heater is charged to the renter but some apartments string a number of parking spaces onto the same circuit on the properties circuit panel as block heaters only use 50 watts so 30 parking lots could be wired on the same circuit. Even if the apartment does have a dedicated line to the parking lot, a 110/120 vac line is only level 1 charging that for some vehicles could take days for a full charge.
@@johnwang9914 This thing has such a small battery and you wouldn't normally be charging from empty so in most cases 8 hrs at 110 would be all you need.
@@DigitalMoonlight And how many college dorms and inexpensive apartments that a college student can afford will have a dedicated 110 vac outlet in the designated parking spot? Even in Northern States and Canada where there would be outlets for the block heater, as many as 30 parking stalls would share one breaker as block heaters only consume 50 watts. The best hope for a student is to find a convenient free level 2 destination charger near the school, in other words to be the only or one of a few students with an EV. With more battery capacity, you could skip a few days that you did not get to the destination charger early enough but with a battery capacity only suitable for daily use, you need a reliable overnight charging infrastructure regardless of whether it's 110/120 or 220/240 (208 on commercial three phase locations) . Regardless, I would personally like to see the Kandi sold as I believe there should be an inexpensive commuter range EV but the Kandi seems to be having problems with regulatory requirements as it's currently being sold with a software speed cap as a NEV. They say that the NEV sales are due to requirements that their US partner corporation has and not with passing regulations but what are we the general public to believe.
This satisfied my curiosity as to what kind of product it is. Seems like a good starter EV/errand car not just for city folks but retirees too. Pleasantly surprised on how decent it appears to be.
Yes, and a great commuter car for many people also Bill, especially for those with more than one family vehicle.
Disgusting, promotion of Chinese CCP owned companies. 1 million in re-education camps/concentration camps, slavery, sterilisation. But sure, buy and promote Chinese cars. BBC report on China slaves: ua-cam.com/video/t28nnviKar4/v-deo.html
@@craigo2656 dude... Come on. Its not about promoting the Chinese product.. It's about alternatives. Now that you have option to buy a very cheap EV car with good quality.
Hi I am from the medal East country of Oman.
Our country weather is normally 40 to 45 C almost daily... Can this EV car survive in our country?
This is a nice review uno, unbiased and so natural. Great presentation!
Nice video, Kyle! This is the perfect running errands, second car; you don’t even need a level 2 EVSE.
Totally agree! Just plug it in a wall outlet and rip it to Starbucks in the morning and drop the muddy dogs off at the groomers. I’d love to run one for a year to see what I could get into with this thing 😬 - Kyle
I was thinking the same, a Tesla or NIO or whatever, depending on preference and you have your errands car the Kandi
@@alejandromelendez9457 Can't help but think that this would end up being the daily driver and the Tesla would sit in the garage ready to be trotted out at weekends. Far easier to weave in and out of traffic, far easier to park & far easier on the nerves every time someone comes near it - it didn't cost anywhere near as much.
I'd want one of these for a Daily Driver, and a Rivian R1T for my Sunday-Go-Meetin' ride.
Disgusting, promotion of Chinese CCP owned companies. 1 million in re-education camps/concentration camps, slavery, sterilisation. But sure, buy and promote Chinese cars. BBC report on China slaves: ua-cam.com/video/t28nnviKar4/v-deo.html
Kyle, I love your enthusiasm for EVs and open mindedness. For EVs to take off, we need luxury cruisers, family vehicles and low priced options.
I disagree that this is probably only going to be an 'accessory' car for most people. If you want to drive electric, don't have a large budget, who's average commute is only around 35 miles per day (round trip), then why do you need more? Why buy a big long range EV who's battery pack capacity you'll only take advantage say, 1-2 times a year? Why not buy a Kandi if it fits most of your needs and hire a longer ranger EV for road trips? You'd save an enormous amount of money on purchase price and insurance costs and not have the headache of high monthly car loan repayments. People need to get over the idea that we need to drive a big heavy tank to pick up the kids, the groceries or the daily commute. Our urban conurbations are becoming evermore crowded so smaller vehicles that meet our *true* needs makes sense.
Even if you have a short daily commute, long trips certainly occur more than 1-2 times per year for many people. A typical trip to lunch for folks in the country might be 40 miles each way
@@davidm2232 But even on those extra occasions, it would STILL be massively cheaper to hire an EV than buying a longer range jobbie for those odd country jaunts. To each their own however.
@@davidm2232 Rent a gas car for trips.
@@smonkey001 So you are going to rent a car every weekend and at least once during the week?
@@davidm2232 Typical trip to lunch for folks in the country--which country?
Kyle - As always, highly informative, great scoop - We are all waiting for this game changer EV, and while I am at it - watch the stock - KNDI go through the roof.
Pete
Could you do a similar review of the K23 model? I would love to hear your impressions.
Great review, Kyle.
What have we always said that we needed to move the EV revolution forward? Affordable electric cars! If this isn't affordable no new car is.
This is pretty expensive at $17,000usd if there is not tax credits. The GM-Wuling is the best selling EV in China now at $4500usd or $5,500usd for the premium model.
@@etow8034 Cars that meet very _basic_ US crash standards simply cost more. There is no hope that the K27 will be anything like "5-Star."
Sure, we could have dirt cheap cars. The cost to society would be too great. Deaths per vehicle mile traveled are today a fraction of what they were in the late '60s when safety standards first started. Deaths in Europw, where smaller cars like the Kandi were common, were much higher.
I am old and have seen many grizzly things that today simply do not happen. We could have cheaper cars but we would need lower speed limits and much stricter enforcement of highway laws.
@@mytbeats I did work for an industry supplier designing commercial vehicle subsystems. Regulations there were nothing like as strict as they are for consumer vehicles.
@@etow8034 I'm sure it would've been less costly if it didn't intend to meet US standards.
@@johnwang9914 The old formula that a new car shouldn't cost more than 3 months of your annual salary should still apply, but today most cars on the average cost more than 6 months of your salary and people are financing for over 48 months !
Make a pickup truck version of this for the urban flower garden ladies and small wood workshop for the gentleman.
Good to see it demolishes the bad quality claims
This is great. I am a Chevy Spark owner and I love my no-frills tiny car. My biggest criticism with EVs is many of them try too hard to be all fancy and premium to the point where the price of a normal car ends up being around $40,000. I’m glad to see that there’s options for EV cars for younger people and people who are just looking for a cheap, local driving car.
Did this car ever go on sale? All I've seen them offer for sale is the NEV version, which doesn't seem very useful.
I really enjoyed this video. Your enthusiasm for trying out new EV tech always shines through.
Loved this review.
The 2020s successor to the imiev has arrived, and thats a good thing.
All it really needs is a CHAdeMO port
Im subbing! Thanks for the great work and willing to cover.
Nicely presented. Thank you.
Super review. If I lived in the burbs and had 2 or 3 teenage kids at home, I would get one for each of them (different colors of course). Only one rule, no highway driving.
Definitely sounds like a great idea to buy for our kids so they can just drive in the streets.
Looks like smaller panel gaps than a Model Y.
Disgusting, promotion of Chinese CCP owned companies. 1 million in re-education camps/concentration camps, slavery, sterilisation. But sure, buy and promote Chinese cars. BBC report on China slaves: ua-cam.com/video/t28nnviKar4/v-deo.html
@@craigo2656 that’s a fact but that door bottom kinda wide tho it’s prob made with solviet union era steel
@@craigo2656 This is a privately owned company. Not more of a CCP owned enterprise than Starbucks China or Apple China
@@craigo2656 Privately owned company, can you please take your stupid politics elsewhere for once
Great review. I think they will sell many of these as long as it meets safety requirements. Pretty loaded for a basic car with the air con. and back up camera etc , etc.
Got to get an anti-glare screen protector. Hopefully will solve the glare issue.
I totally agree that we should have more practical yet nice designs, low cost EV.
Less stress for the environment and my wallet too. Makes me feel great.
The fact that a brand-new car that's under $10k has vinyl leather seats, that's already a good sign lol
You are so happy when presenting thus little fun car😀
Did I hear "less than 6k in Colorado"???
The Kandi is ok for short local trips. Worth flying to Denver for lower price. Just watched your other video. I would go more for the M23. Now in LA...cool looking Solo. Engine is what you forgot to show in the Kandi. Thanks enjoyed watching odd electric cars.
if folks can confidently drive mini coopers, mitsubishi mirage, kia soul, which are tiny cars this should find itself to many driveways looking for a cheap, electric, commuter. Under 10k that is crazy!
Yup. I drive a Mitsubishi Mirage and I'm eye-balling this KANDI car now. The base price of my Mitsubishi is $12.75K, but this sub $10K car has more features than my Mirage, of which I was pretty impressed. Reclining rear seats?? REALLY!!??!!! Unbelievable!! I always thought that American electric vehicles were a farce. Because if I can drive my Mitsubishi Mirage from Ottawa Canada to Stratford New Jersey on 7/8 of a tank of gas and average over 64 miles per gallon, why bother with an hybrid. But this KANDI car is actually for real with its price for a change. There hasn't been a car for the common American person since the K-Car, but now we have it, and it comes from China! I think the Chinese are gonna eat our lunch on this one here. The U.S. snoozed in creating a car for We The People.
Never have to worry about flat tires caz it comes with 4 spares already on it.
LOL!
lmao
Comment of the month 😵 lol lol
Thanks for the great overview Kyle, I like your overlanding (overKandiing?) idea for Colorado, with Ellie and Bleu bouncing around in back! 😉 You just need some offroad tires, roof rack and vinyl lightning bolts ⚡on the side. The white definitely looks much better in my view than the red version.
great info thanks buddy
Hope you also get to review the K23.
Looks amazing.
Am I the only one who wants to see SavageGeese review this?
Great review!! Congratulations on moving to CO. You were in NC prior, right?
14'' wheels is what the BMW E30 series (1982-1994) came with and the E30 M3 came with 15''s.
Wow! Car looks easily upgradable with a little car knowledge too, perfect daily car!
Great unbiased review
Yep, most reviewers hate inexpensive cars. We have a Mitsubishi MIrage which sells for $14,500. No rebates. It has 40 mpg and a 9 plus gallon tank. We love it around town. We also have a mini van and a large van.
@@RonWagner
God I remember how much idiots like Doug laughed on the Mirage, without understanding what's its meant for. that guy purely loves shit like rolls royce's and would hate stuff like mirage, we had a Attrage rented for a few weeks and I really liked the car FFS XD
The ability to charge on your standard house power will be a big attraction. The four seats plus storage is a surprise.
Thanks for the video. Nice to see this car will actually be closer to a car and not a go-cart. I looked at the website and I would like to know the difference between the neighborhood version and the regular version of each car? The biggest question will be for most buyers, is this a better buy than buying a used 2017 Chevy Bolt or 2018 Nissan Leaf. I can buy a used Bolt for the same price or less, no tax credit, with 2X to 3X the range and nearby service and more features on the car all around. It would not have to be a city car because the Bolt has a 200+ mile range and a higher top speed. But I think think this would make a great cheap rental car to drive.
There are people who buy a second car just to drive to the train station and park there. These are suburbs outside of major cities like NYC. This would be a perfect car if you live in the suburbs and run daily errands around town.
I kind of want one even though I have plenty of quirky cars. It would be a cheap inroad to an EV. I’d like to see people modify them for SEMA. A couple subtle changes like large wheel wells and bigger wheels to fill them, a revised grill area, and an extra battery pack in the rear would be neat.
Is there an option to add Apple CarPlay? How good do the speakers sound? Didn’t catch you mentioning these
Like you name this is happy car. Happy thanksgiving!
I like it I might pick one up for in town driving and going to work and back.
in the philippines you can ask the dealers for parking sensors free with install. it comes standard to other vehicles as well. hoping our country to see a boom in EV.
Good review! Do the K23 next? 🙂
I have an Atomic low speed electric vehicle which I use daily to do most of my errands and the Kandi seems like a roomier, faster version of my vehicle. I love the idea of it.
Do some reviews on safety features, airbags, crash tests, etc. It might make a good first car for a kid who doesn't need 100s of miles of range. As always, I appreciate the reviews and the content.
It's still undergoing crash testing right now. I think the results are supposed to be in by end of February and that is the main missing link before they become available on the market.
Interesting. At this point tho there are a lot of LEAFs coming off 3 year leases in that price range. I picked up a 2017 LEAF SV, 30KWh battery (87%SOH, still 12 bars), quick charge option with 25K miles for $11K.
I really want one too since my Smart car lease is ending in May. Do you have any information on where these cars can be serviced? Thanks so much for your review. Be well.
I love piano black! :)
That’s cheaper car than one option of FSD on a Tesla 😎
Definitely Daniel, just order one with your credit card... Would you like fries with that, sir? ☺️
@@jamespaul2587 I would certainly consider buying one if they’re available in the UK 🇬🇧😎
@@IDann1 yes, I would consider in Canada also.We have a 5k federal rebate on new EVs under 45k base price, along with additional incentives for some provinces, none available for Ontario currently though.
Fake company!!
Beware
@@tommy1234564 Makes no difference, can’t get them in Europe 🇬🇧anyway,
I want one this litte ev for work and round town and I'll keep my Prius for long trips 💖🚙
13:44 The supposed "coat hook" he is referencing is most likely a grocery hook. It is a very common thing found in Kei cars found in Japan. You hang your plastic bags from the Combini (convenience store) on it, not clothing.
Why you did not include the removable battery?.
Seems like a pretty cool automotive brand! Surprising seeing a Chinese automaker operating in the USA. I hope they sell more cars here and succeed.
Changli
Not so many yesrs ago in Europe most cars came standard with 14 inch wheels. Those wheels were considered decent for a long while. Lots of oversized cars called boats in the 60-ties in the USA had 14 inch tires also. For most customers in the USA in 2020 these small tires might indeed look hilariously small though.
Laughs in festiva 12s
one cupholder? where does the passenger put a drink? any cupholders for the rear? i see plastic cups, but are they empty/squished, or will it hold full drinks? driver cupholder sits in front of the vent, so it blocks the cool air coming out?
I wonder if the regen works better on Sport mode than in the D mode, in our BAIC EC3 it does.
The Kandi will crush
Thank you
Regarding the platform this car is built on: it is a generic Chinese shell used by several Chinese automakers but it has nothing in common with Daihatsu models other than the wheelbase and design which were copied from the Cast Sport. The Chinese shell is slightly longer, taller and wider although I do suspect that some parts may interchange with the Japanese car.
That’s awesome, Mike! Thanks for sharing. Do you know what other automakers use this shell? - Kyle
@@InsideEVsUS I've read that Lingbao and SiTech are two other automakers using this shell. The Daihatsu original from which the design is copied is also rebadged and sold as a Toyota.
There is also Jinpeng selling these cars in China under the name EC01. Kandi has a partnership with Jinpeng China .
Here is a video: ua-cam.com/video/LfcHfQyzm5k/v-deo.html
@@sandeshsaokar from other videos on that channel, it appears that Jinpeng and Lingbao are the same company
How they can import them and you street testing/driving it before passing the federal tests?
Firstly thank you for the detailed review, you did a very good job of reviewing this car. You mentioned it as a generic shell and then mentioned Daihatsu, I have to correct you there as Daihatsu is Japanese and partly owned by Toyota. I think it's possible that Chinese cars have taken inspiration from Daihatsu designs, and definitely the Chinese small vans and pickups are mostly copies of Daihatsu products, but there is no connection other than Chinese brands being inspired by Daihatsu, as far as I can tell anyway.
I live in Ireland which is slower than most of Europe to adopt EV's, and we don't get any help from the government, even the road tax here is still the same for an EV as for a small petrol or diesel car! If this car was available here for US prices with US incentives I'd certainly be looking closely, but ultimately my concern is that it would end up being scrapped in a few years through lack of parts and lack of interest as a used car. Actually this is my concern regarding Chinese brands at all price points, and it's based on some real world experience with Chinese built motorcycles that were actually very good vehicles but with next to zero after sales support.
To be fair I had the same issue owning a Smart car in Ireland as Smart was never officially sold in the Republic of Ireland and hence service options were very very limited.
That piano black finish looks awful and would be better in a textured matt black, but other than that the interior finish looks good. The range seems acceptable when new, but given that corners may have been cut to achieve the low price I'd be concerned about that range dropping as it gets slightly older. I guess most users buying this new may only keep it for three years or less, I expect the residual value after 2-3 years to be very low which may make the overall cost of ownership much higher than it appears.
Long range quality is a concern, a close relative worked for a company that used Chinese manufacturing for their products. The design was there, but cutting corners and hidden production errors seriously affected quality and durability. This really looks like a good basic commuting vehicle, but I’ll be waiting for the 1-3-5 year driver real life reports. Hope they hold up, because this checks most of the boxes to eventually replace my 2013 Prius C hybrid!
Hi Kyle, Nice video! looks cute! Is it srarting to sell in the market now?
In sport mode “It’s as fast as my Electric Smart Car”. Wow, some serious praise right there. 😂
Would love one
This one is much faster than I expected. Do you know anything about 25 mph carl like the Wink Mark 3 ?
How long charge ? Battery can be swaped ?
I know this is an old video, but you might want to update it. The "car" versions of the K27 and K23 have disappeared from Kandi America's website. The Kandi America's website only has the NEV versions of either car. So we can safely assume this K27 is no longer going to be sold. Kandi America just announced an "Off-road K32 EV Truck" which is.... Weird. It looks like a truck. Has all the features of a truck, but is advertised as an enclosed UTV and has specs that astound in their crappiness
I wonder how they hold up in cold weather like where I live that can hit -10 F in the winter.
Looks like a fun car 🚗, would be nice if you showed the infotainment system, I personally would buy one for that price
59 mile EPA range? If you get stuck in traffic commuting to work on a hot day, do you leave the air conditioning on?
Agree about the look of K23 - looks like "Alien" face from the movie.
I want 27 of them. All painted Skittles colors. Yuuup.
I haven't read through the reviews so I might be asking the same question again. Can EVs, like the Kandi, be considered a golf cart meaning can it be driven like a golf cart on golf cart tails and lanes. Driving it on the street and highways, for sure it needs to be registered and licensed. But strictly using it as a golf cart, does it have to be registered and licensed? It would be ideal for a golf cart community.
Are the batteries air cooled like the Leaf?
I’m guessing the seat back coat hook is a shopping bag hook. Thanks for the first look.
Yes, it is typical chinese style on cars.
A perfect car for senior populatlion. I don't need a hot rod, I drive to the grocery store, post office, church, dr. office. The most I drive in any one distance is 20 miles, There are brands of car I avoid because no local service. an example is VW, no local dealer. The closest one is 100 miles to a vw dealer. Chevy, Nissan, Toyota, Chrysler, GMC etc as local. I hope they have a local service point where I live near Prescott, az. Out in the bondocks choices can be limited.
If I hadn't just bought a 2016 Spark EV earlier this spring, I would at least consider it.
I'm going to look to get one in Michigan but 1st need to look into services and warranty 1st.
Well it did it it passed the test did you see it everybody he push the door and it closed now that’s quality. Kyle was quite impressed with that which might skew the rest of the opinions since the expectations were doors that don’t close
Ha!! I was actually thinking that after listening back. Idk what I was thinking - Kyle
At least you didn't need a roll of duct tape to keep 'er closed, Kyle (or a hammer like that infamous Ford GT! 🙂)
and a really nice cupholder for your Starbucks! 🙂
awesome
But...Have Kandi cars only received approval for NEV? Thx
That's a Daihatsu Cast body. No wonder the finish is well done.
in fact it is a Daihatsu knockoff
@@RG-jx9vi Yes but Daihatsu doesn't make electric version of the Cast model. It's a 3 cylinder 660 cc.
@@brunodagostino2312 who knows who bought it from who...
This car has the protentional to be the VW bug of this decade. Cheap, fun and quirky. Oh by the way this car is only 6k more than that car in 1964!
That is a kēi-jidousha light car here in Japan. Looks like a Daihatsu Hi-Jet
I feel like this would be a good candidate for an RV tow behind vehicle. A good vacation run around car with the RV campground as a home base. Charge it up at the campsite.
When can we get it in Canada?
Reminds me of my old honda civic hatchback. Similar interior space and size.
Too bad you are no longer in NC. I would have liked to see the track results. Now that you are in Colorado and not close to a track, will you still do “One Lap”?
Yes! We have a new partner track in CO and keeping the NC track - Kyle
Im not usually a fan of sweets but this I gotta try.
I drove it in August, it is a fun little car.
NHTSA MUST TEST K27, K23, and K32 by Kandi. It happened to Buick Envision.
When it’s comming to Canada?